Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Action against panchayat likely

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Local Administration Department would initiate stringent action against the Kalpakancherry panchayat in Malappuram district for adopting a resolution that a controversial lesson in the social science textbook for class VII need not be taught in the schools under its jurisdiction.

Official sources told The Hindu here on Friday that punitive measures would be taken against the Edayoor panchayat in Kuttipuram block for adopting similar steps.

The Panchayat Director sought a report from the Kalpakancherry panchayat secretary on Thursday about the resolution as well as the decision not to teach the lesson in the schools under its purview.

The panchayat secretary is understood to have reported that the committee chose to ignore his advice and the resolution did not figure on the agenda for the meeting on June 30.

Before taking up the resolution, he had informed the president and the members that it was against the tenets of the Panchayati Raj Act and the committee did not have the authority to discuss issues outside its purview.

Still, the president decided to move the resolution and it was adopted by the committee. While 13 out of the 17 members voted in favour, four members opposed the resolution. The committee refused to record the secretary’s dissent too, sources said.

The secretary recommended that the government initiate action to withdraw the resolution. The Panchayati Raj rules did not permit a panchayat committee to discuss subjects which did not come under its authority.

Members would have to unanimously decide whether an issue outside the agenda should be discussed at the meeting. Moreover, the department had the powers to take action against a panchayat for adopting a resolution against the government policy.

The opposition of four members and the dissent of the secretary itself had given enough ground for the government to act against the panchayat. The case of the Edayoor panchayat too would be dealt with in a similar manner, sources said.

If the panchayats refused to withdraw the resolutions, the department would refer it to the ombudsman for local self-government institutions and then dissolve the committees.

Meanwhile, ombudsman M.R. Hariharan Nair took a suo motu case and issued notice to the panchayats. Mr. Nair, in his order, said that “the legality of the said decision and the question whether this decision, if true, tantamount to maladministration have to be considered.”

The panchayats were told to file statements and furnish copies of the resolution and other instructions issued to the educational authorities on June 30.

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